NHL director of player safety Brendan Shanahan took some time out today on the NHL Network to discuss some recent non suspensions of late, most especially the decision not to suspend Brad Stuart for his big hit on Gabe Landeskog that still has the NHL rookie of the year sidelined with a suspected concussion.

The league clearly is/was a little sensitive over the call not to suspend Stuart. This is NOT good for the NHL to have bright young stars like Landeskog out with concussions (see: Crosby, Sidney).

I’ll let you watch the video and draw your own conclusions of Shanahan’s rationale. Personally, I could argue either way on a suspension. I don’t think Stuart stuck out his elbow and targeted the head with it. I think his body is square. I think Landeskog wasn’t aware enough of the surroundings and, like it or not, guys who don’t do that get clocked.

What I don’t like is the argument that Stuart didn’t leave his feet on the hit. I think technically Stuart is not off his feet at the point of impact. I concede that. But Stuart was clearly on his way to leaving his feet. He was leaping into the hit. I think it’s too much of a semantic game to claim otherwise. He is clearly way off his feet a millisecond after the contact was made. And by leaping into the hit, he made it so he hit the head first.

I think that should have been taken more into account by Shanny.
Here is the video:

I disagree that Stuart left his feet in a manner in which to further increase momentum into Landeskog. Landy isn’t a small guy – even though he got smoked, Stuart is still going to feel Landeskog’s momentum going into Stuart which could result in a “pop” of Stuart’s body/feet off the ice. It really is a semantic issue – it’s hard to judge things like that unless they change the rule of hockey to where you can never lift your foot to take a stride and you’re basically required to keep your feet on the ice at all teams….yeah, no going to happen. The fact of the matter is Landeskog turned up ice with his head down, when he finally looked up he didn’t have enough time to pull up out of a skating/stick handling position to brace for the hit. Before the haters come out in full force, I’m a die hard Avs fan but more importantly I’m a fan of hockey too and have played in competitive hockey and given and taken my fair share of hits – it was a legal hit and it’s part of the game. Landeskog himself wasn’t just being a classy guy and just trying to say the right thing – what he said about the hit was true and he needs to keep his head up.

Chris DeMott

I couldn’t disagree more. Stuart flexes both legs as he lines up Landeskog and Jumps through a perfectly timed hit. If that wasn’t “leaving the feet” I don’t know what would be.

Jimbotronn

It would be “loading up to take a huge impact.” Any player who knows a big hit is coming does this to protect himself.

Lolreally?

Wrong, it’s called jumping into a check. Also known as charging.

Jimbotronn

Sorry, I just don’t agree that pushing upwards at impact fits the definition of a charge, and pushing up is what Stuart did. In most hits like this one that you’ll see, the player dishing out the hit will brace himself in this exact same way, and then push through the hit to protect themselves. Charging is when a player propels his body into a violent hit, and merely straightening one’s body out doesn’t count as “distance traveled.”

The argument could be made, I suppose, that he raised his body up to make head contact, but that would still not fit the definition of a charge. That would be targeting of the head, which I thought Shanahan did a good job explaining away. I’ve seen a lot of charging calls, and none of them have looked like this hit. Hell, EJ had a big hit in the last game that was a lot closer to a charge (and an elbow) than Stuart’s hit, and nobody’s mentioned it at all.

Avsolutely

go watch a redwings game.

Jimbotronn

Why, are they on? I’m watching Leafs/Caps right now. For the life of me, I can’t figure out which team Shanahan wants to screw over in this one…

Matthew

Flexing your legs does not equal leaving your feet. Get a freaking clue.

zan

Would it have been different if it had been Zetterberg? Gotta think so.

Jimbotronn

Really? Maybe you didn’t watch last year’s playoffs, but one of Shanaban’s most confusing non-bans was his measly $2500 fine against Shea Webber for mashing Z’s head against the glass. You guys and your “Shanahan hates the Avs” thing are ridiculous.

Puck Me Up

I really don’t care what Shanahan’s explanation is at this point. The point being, if guys are allowed to play as recklessly as they want and that reckless behavior results in a serious injury, than it makes the game that much unsafer across the board. Yes, I love hard hitting in Hockey. I’ve been more than fine with a few of the Avs getting leveled during games when it was called for. However, in this case, no one will ever convince me that this hit was okay because Stuart fell within the rules of the hit. Stuart didn’t even have to hit Landy at all as he was not even playing the puck. Sure he tried to play the puck, but he didn’t.

I agree with “Zan” below. If this happened to a Red Wing or someone else from the bigger named clubs, would this have been seen in the same light. I believe the answer is no. That being said, I think thing Shanny is a putz and I cannot wait for him to move on to something else.

Jimbotronn

The point is that it was Landeskog who was reckless in this situation, not Stuart. And Landeskog was most definitely playing the puck, I don’t know what you’re watching but he had dumped the puck into the zone a millisecond before the hit.

L2HockeyKid

Get a clue kid. Stuart caused the injury with his reckless play, not Landeskog. Stuart jumped into the hit which caused the check to be a hit to the head. There were several rules broken on the hit. By jumping into the check Stuart charged Landeskog. And then it was also obviously a hit to the head, which is another infraction. The charging rules say nothing about leaving the feet before the check, as that is not the criteria for charging. The NHL has been teaching this in officiating camps for a few years now. Extension of the legs just prior to the hit = jumping into the check = charging. Shanahan is doing nothing here but displaying a complete lack of intelligence, and some hypocrisy, by not acknowledging the fact that Stuart jumped into the check. Lesser charges have already been cause for suspension. Don’t post when you don’t know jack about the sport.

Jimbotronn

So you’re saying you know more about hockey than I do. I suppose that’s possible. But you’re also saying you know more about hockey than both the refs who are paid to officiate it AND the people put in charge of reviewing every play and determining whether it was legal or not? That, I don’t buy.

I understand the rules of the game. Oddly enough, my understanding of these rules was pretty much substantiated by what Shanahan and the league did and said. I’m gonna go ahead and ignore your advice, and continue to post, thanks. You may ignore them at your leisure.

Puck Me Up

I disagree Jimbo. What I saw was Landeskog reaching for the puck. But let’s say I’m completely wrong about that argument. How in the hell is Stuart less responsible for hitting a guy in the face with either his forearm or his elbow during his check? No matter what the rule says, the bottom line is, the rule should be challenged because it doesn’t make sense in terms of the contradiction of what the NHL preaches about how they’re trying to make the game safer. You can’t tell a player he doesn’t have to be responsible for his limbs but he’s fully responsible for his stick. In what world does that make any freaking sense whatsoever?????

CaliMark

It’s a joke that Brendan Shanahan is the guy in charge of reviewing player safety. That was a head hunting cheap shot by a former Red Wing on the Av’s captain. He left his feet and followed through as hard as possible with the intention of knocking the tar out of Landy. The idiotic NHL lets their stars get taken out by a slug like Stuart but that’s nothing new. Stuart also played for the Av’s but he was forgettable and seems to be nothing more than a head hunting journeyman hack.

burleigh

Stuart never played for the Avs.

CaliMark

Oh yeah. Guess I was thinking of the Kings

iwinthisdebate

The real issue is that there isn’t a firm set of criteria with which to judge these scenarios – or rather, too much emphasis on things like intent. Landeskog’s head was the principal point of contact. His body level did not change suddenly during the windup of Stuart’s hit to the time of collision. Landeskog was also in a defenseless position (a frequently used concept in the NFL). Whether or not he intended to hit Landeskog’s head should be inconsequential to the rule simply because it is impossible to judge intent unless it’s egregious, in which case, the league can establish punitive measures. Additionally, the league should err on the side of player safety. If player safety is a primary concern, then if players know that pretty much all hits to the head, particularly when the player is in a defenseless position, will result in a suspension, they will think twice. This might not be the best thing for the NHL product as many of the hard hits might be removed from the game, but the NHL cannot have its cake and eat it to. The NHL needs to establish a standard that correlates strongly to the majority of hits that lead to concussions and use that standard – rather than player intent – to judge all hits in a predictable and consistent manner.

Puck Me Up

Absolutely! The rule has to change because it’s extremely incongruent with what happened is this scenario. I just can’t understand why so many seem to be over looking that part. A real head-scratcher for sure.

Fuzzy

Shanahan hates the Avs. Always has, always will. Remember that nothing he did when Rob Blake smashed Mueller’s head into the glass. It was at least as bad as the Shea Webber hit. But nothing happened. It would be rediculous if we hadn’t heard Shanahan stretching the technicalities of the rules to justify his inaction many, many times before. What isn’t rediculous is we keep losing good players to season or career ending injuries, and the Shanahans and Blakes of the league continue to make nothing but lame excuses.

http://bowlinginthedark.blogspot.com Some Guy

Do you want to know why Shanahan didn’t do anything when Rob Blake smashed Mueller’s head into the glass? Because Shanahan took the job on June 2, 2011. Blake hit Mueller on April 4, 2010.

Bias has nothing to do with why Shanahan didn’t suspend Rob Blake. It’s all about the fact that the guy doesn’t own a time machine.

Jimbotronn

If Shanahan didn’t hate the Avs, he would have retired from the NHL earlier, so he could take the discipline job sooner, so he could have suspended an ex-Av who hit a then-current Av. The way it all “worked out” is just too convenient.

RS

That was a total intentional elbow to the face. Stuart clearly positions his elbow into the position where Landeskog’s head is going to be. He easily could have put his shoulder in the chest and taken Landeskog down that way, but he didn’t. You could see his elbow extend after the impact occurred. It was a very strategic hit done by a veteran defenseman who knows how to hide his intentions. Good hitters know how to use their elbows without getting caught. This is the reality of hockey. Stuart got his beating by O’Byrne right after the hit happened. Justice is rarely 20/20, but that will have to do. Its time for us to move on. Unfortunately, Landeskog is still hurt and all we can do now is hope he fully recovers before he returns. As someone who has had my share of concussions playing hockey as well, it is not something I would wish on anybody not named Todd Bertuzzi.

Yes, his elbow extends after the hit, but if you watch the hit frame-by-frame, it’s evident that Stuart’s elbow makes no contact with Landeskog’s head. After impact, Landeskog’s head falls backward faster than Stuart’s elbow rises, and if anything hits his face after the initial hit, it’s a glove, not an elbow. The notion that Stuart led with his elbow is a pipe dream.

Jimbotronn

Don’t confuse us with the facts!

Puck Me Up

So, Landeskog hit himself in the nose and caused it to bleed??? This hear you’re answer for that one???

Jimbotronn

Huh? Are you suggesting a shoulder can’t make somebody’s nose bleed, only elbows?

Feel Me

No it wasn’t. You can clearly see his arm extended and hit the face. What IS unclear, is whether or not it was a forearm or an elbow that made the point of contact to the face. Outside of that fact, I don’t see what you and a few others see. That being said, it appears that the majority of people on this blog see the hit very differently from you, Shanahan and Jimbotronn. But whatever dude..we can agree to disagree on this one. But I know one damn thing for sure, this will continue to fuel my disgust for Shanahan.

http://bowlinginthedark.blogspot.com Some Guy

Show me anything that indicates that his elbow is extended at or before the point of impact. If it’s so obvious to pretty much everybody else, there must be loads of proof.

Matthew

Cripes. Enough already.

Landeskog’s head was down. He got freight-trained. Landeskog was irresponsible and paid for it.

Oh, and the NHL can survive without Landeskog. Let’s stop acting like he’s a young “star” in the NHL. He’s not. He’s a 2nd/3rd line winger on a bad team that just happened to put up decent numbers on a really bad team. Not every ROTY becomes a star player. There’s nothing to suggest Landeskog will be more than an average player.

Feel Me

I bet that’s exactly how women view you Matthew. Very average and/or occasionally okay!!!!

icewords77

Stuart hit the head; he left his feet, jumped up at Landeskog. Shanahan exhibits absolute stupidity on this non-call. Obviously, we all need to move on from this, because Shanahan isn’t going to change the verdict. BUT he should. And it would have been a 10 game suspension if it would have been Zetterberg or Datsyuk – okey, having trouble moving on from it, I admit it – noone will need to point that out!

Dave Flaig

The former Red Wing has lost objectivity. Still remembers the punches he took from Avs during his playing days.

Terry Frei graduated from Wheat Ridge High School in the Denver area and has degrees in history and journalism from the University of Colorado-Boulder. He worked for the Rocky Mountain News while attending CU and joined the Post staff after graduation. He has also worked at the Oregonian in Portland, Ore., and The Sporting News. His seventh book, March 1939: Before the Madness, was issued in February 2014.

Chambers covers college and professional hockey for The Denver Post. He has written for the Post since 1994, after dumping his first 9-to-5 office job a couple years out of college. He primarily follows the University of Denver hockey team and helps cover the Avalanche.